This day I love.......: Harry Potter

Last week I attended one of my favourite events of the year, Dream Toys. Dream toys is one of the biggest to events of the year, it features leading toy industry experts, manufacturers, press, major toy brands and of course Father Christmas. On display are over 70 toys and of course the predicted top 12 toys for Christmas.

The event is held in central London and whilst it meant an early start for me and a 2 hour train journey it was more than worth it to see familiar faces and meet many new ones. I always know when I am getting close to the venue as I start seeing people walking the streets of London carrying Christmas gift bags.

The top 12 toys this year are along with RRP:

Barbie Dreamplane Playset Mattel £79.99

Blume Dolls Skyrocket £9.99

Frozen 2 ‘Into the Unknown’ Elsa Doll Jakks Pacific £39.99

Harry Potter Knight Bus LEGO £34.99

L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper MGA Entertainment £99.99

Nerf Elite Fortnite SP-L Hasbro £19.99

Owleez Spin Master Toys £49.99

PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Super PAWs Mighty Jet Command Centre Spin Master Toys £59.99

Peppa Pig Peppa’s Stage Playset Character Options £39.99

Rizmo Tomy £59.99

Ryan’s World Super Surprise Safe Flair Leisure Products £44.99

Toy Story 4 True Talkers Mattel £17.99

As perhaps to be expected there are toys from the biggest kids films of this year Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2. Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol also always feature each year as they are perhaps the biggest pre school characters with all of my kids loving them as they have grown up. Many of the toys on the list I had heard of prior to the event, with either my kids talking about them or having seen an advert for them. One however I had not heard of and was interested to find out a little more, Rizmo.

I headed to the Rizmo stand to talk and see what the toy was all about. I mean it made the top 12 list so it has to be good right? Rizmo is an interactive pet which starts off in baby form and grows into an adult. As you care and play for it you accumulate points which allow you to unlock further games giving a total of 7. As you acquire more points and care for Rizmo he then starts to grow and there are three stages before he is fully grown. I was kindly given a demo of what happens as he grows up

As well as the top 12 toys there are also ideas for the top toys within certain categories. Movie magic featured many Harry Potter related toys, which I am pleased to see having a Harry Potter mad daughter. As expected Frozen 2, Toy story 4 and Avengers also seem to make up the rest of the selection.

What I found really interesting is the similarities between this and a document I was recently sent from Warner Bros on their predicted top wizarding related wish list. I haven't been asked or paid to include this but wanted to as it may help if you are looking for some ideas.

The Back to Pre School section was perhaps one of the most colourful. The toys here would all appeal to my three year old son. In fact I don't think there is anything here that would not. He loves his Toot Toot train set and is absolutely Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig obsessed. Thomas is another of his favourites.

Curious Creatures has something for all age groups. The Baby shark toys are something my three year old would love. The girls aged 9 and 7 both love twisty pets having already spent a lot of their pocket money on them. Owleez is already on my youngest daughters wish list as in anything unicorn related. Last year she received a Little Live Pets Scruff a luvs and she absolutely loved it. It was one of her most played with toys. The new one for this year is electronic and vibrates when brushed, I know it is something she would adore. The twerking Llama had me in stitches. It was one of those toys that just makes you laugh.

My must have from Dream Toy is to make sure I get a selfie with Father Christmas, mission accomplished!

I didn't spend much time in the Let's get busy section as in total honesty there was nothing that stood out and whilst they looked great toys I don't think they would have the same appeal with my children as some of the other sections.

Big reveal toys are always a hit with my three. My son loves Ryan, well what 3 year old boy doesn't and Ryan seemingly features quite heavy with his reveal safe and his mystery egg. My youngest daughter loves all these reveal toys and in particular has asked for a Rainbocorns, we shall see what Father Christmas brings.

What's not to love in the trains, planes and automobiles section. I think all three of mine would love everything featured here, especially Lego as we love building with Lego.

I can honestly say my kids would be incredibly happy with the top 12 toys this year and certainly many from the other sections too.

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I could play it cool and pretend I didn't shriek with delight when the email landed to say I had been invited to the Harry Potter studios tour in London. I could, but I won't. I think the shriek would be similar to that of me receiving an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, or my children receiving one. Whilst I can keep dreaming on that one, the reality of visiting the studio tour had me rather giddy.

Every since the studios opened I have wanted to visit. I was one of those kids that read the entire book on the first day it was released. I watched the films as close to opening night as possible and well just loved the whole Harry Potter franchise. It was time to finally visit the studio!

Our visit was on a Friday evening so I picked the girls up from school and made the 3hour car journey down the M1 to the M25. We were really lucky with the traffic and arrived early. The girls had some knowledge of Harry Potter, we had read the first book together and watched the first film, and Little Man can just about work out it is him in the mirror so he was just happy spending time with us. I was really excited.

The girls ran across the courtyard to the giant statues in front of them. Not knowing what they were, but mesmerised all the same. I knew, I was awe struck. The chess pieces from wizards chess. They were huge, I honestly didn't think they would be that size. I was itching to get inside and let the tour begin, but first we had to solemnly swear that we were up to no good.

We had passport books to collect stamps as we made our way around. The girls eagerly looking for the next stamp and Little Man giddy with all the new things to see. Our tour started with a brief presentation looking over the history and an explanation of what to expect during our tour. The girls listened intently and I could see the excitement beginning to build.

We made our way into a cinema presentation where the girls sat and watched the presentation very carefully before we made our way to the Great Hall. I was now far too excited and could not wait for the doors to open. I had decided to wait to the end to enter mainly because I wanted to get a photo of at least one of my children in front of the doors. It was worth the wait!

Plus waiting until the very end meant I also managed a photo of the Great Hall with no one else in it! We soaked up the details before making our way out.

Little Man seemed to love going from exhibit to exhibit as he looked at all the bright colours and details on the different props and sets. Some areas are set up as the original set such as Professor Albus Dumbledore's office and the Gryffindor common room. Within each are props that were used, costumes and other artefacts that went into the films. The girls asked lots of questions as they went around. I think seeing the studio tour sparked a desire to learn more about Harry Potter, read more of the books and watch more of the films.

Many of the exhibits are interactive. You can use magic to stir potions in the classroom, and wash pots in the Weasley house. Your magic came in handy with learning to fly broomsticks over Hogwarts and of course we learnt spells at wand school.

I was actually really surprised at how much my children at 7,6 and 2 really loved the tour. Given their limited Harry Potter knowledge they really enjoyed themselves and took everything on board. After a trip through the Forbidden Forrest, which has two routes one with spiders and one without, we tried butterbeer before heading into the outdoor area of the tour.

Here the girls saw the Night Bus, rode on Hagrid's Motorcycle and of course visited Harry Potters House.

We were now approaching the final section of the tour. I loved learning about all the animatronics that had gone into the film. Looking at the concept to the final design. There was an interactive Dobby which the girls loved making him floss [You will have to watch the YouTube video on my channel] and it was then past a wall full of the different hats that appeared in the film before heading into Diagon alley.

Our tour lasted around 4 and half hours but it flew. The girls and Little Man never got fed up, OK Little Man did get tired at times but that was more down to the fact it was his bedtime. They loved it and as they walked around their fascination with the franchise grew more. I could have taken the pushchair but knew he would have got in and out of it so opted not to.

Sometimes when you have wanted to visit somewhere for so long the reality doesn't meet expectations, this wasn't the case here. I was blown away. I had been worried that the girls and Little Man might not have enjoyed the experience, but the girls have come away with a new love of Harry Potter and are now reading the books after watching all the films. I think it is great that the tour has inspired them to want to learn more and to read more. They point parts out in the film that they have seen, which is a brilliant way to get them to talk about their experience too. Even though we have visited the tour I would love to go again, to see how the tour changes and see new sets as they feature in the tour.

Thank you to Warner Bros studio tour for inviting us. We were not asked to write a post or produce a video but I wanted to document our experience.

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